Even after 37 years, Roman Reed vividly remembers the football game the Pace Vikings played on a cold, wet night on Nov. 21, 1980, when his extra-point kick was the difference in a 7-6 bi-district victory over Coastal Bend powerhouse Gregory-Portland in the Class 4A state playoffs.

It was the night Pace captured a milestone postseason win on the road and Reed’s name was forever etched into Brownsville football lore. The District 16-4A champion Vikings became the pride of the city that season and finished 11-1.

“I remember making it and a feeling of exhilaration came over me like never before,” Reed said of his all-important point-after that put the Vikings ahead early in the second half, precariously by one point. “I was hugged so much for the next minute (and) it felt awesome. But we still had to hold them (the rest of the way).”

Defeating the Wildcats on their home field where they hadn’t lost in at least 13 years was not only a monumental victory for Brownsville, but also for the entire Rio Grande Valley. Dating back to 1970, G-P had won 10 straight bi-district games (nine against Valley teams, usually in a rout).

In 1980, the Vikings and Wildcats came into their bi-district showdown at G-P each as a 10-0 district champion and each state-ranked (G-P No. 3 in the UPI and AP polls and Pace No. 8 in UPI and No. 10 in AP). Pace had declined to share game films with G-P and that might have caused some ill feelings between the two squads going into the contest.

Regardless, it came down to the game’s adverse playing conditions as a crucial factor in the outcome.

“You couldn’t have scripted a game with more miserable conditions than that one,” said Hector Martinez, an all-state wide receiver and All-Valley offensive MVP for the 1980 Vikings who continues to live in Brownsville as a retired Army veteran now working in management services. “It was bad — cold and muddy — and not what we were used to playing in being from the Valley.”

Added Danny Alvarez, the team’s all-state, All-South Texas and All-Valley quarterback, “I don’t think any of us panicked about playing them. We were just excited to play and have an opportunity to win.

“A game in bad conditions like that wasn’t designed for our (Run and Shoot) offense,” he added. “We had to gut it out and rely on our defense.”

The Vikings went up against the Wildcats’ imposing record of success over the previous decade and beyond under coach Ray Akins, who is the grandfather of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and who won 293 games in all during his 38-year coaching career (1950-88). Marty Akins, the coach’s son, played quarterback at G-P (early 1970s) and later for the Texas Longhorns under Darrell Royal (1973-75).

All that considered, an unexpected 7-6 victory over G-P on that bone-chilling night in late November understandably became a treasured memory for the 1980 Pace players and coaches, particularly Reed, who also played at left offensive tackle and saw some time on the defensive line as well. On offense, he alternated at tackle with Adrian Arzola and the two linemen took turns bringing in the plays.

“Roman saved the day for us,” said Gordon Foerster, Pace’s head coach from 1978-82 who in 1980 brought the Vikings their first district championship since the school opened in 1975. “There were others who made key plays late in the game to help us get that win, and Roman’s kick saved the day.”

FEELING BLESSED

Yes, it’s been 37 years.

Now 53, Reed has enjoyed a life marked by many accomplishments since his well-remembered extra point.

A 1981 Pace graduate, Reed received an accounting degree from Texas A&M in 1985 and earned a letter on the Aggies’ football team in 1983 as a backup lineman and special teams player.

He became a financial analyst and since 2011 has served as a councilman for the City of Bellaire, a suburb of Houston, along with service in the U.S. Army Reserves and community volunteer and church work with his wife Sally.

“I am most blessed to have had teammates and coaches that are great men and loved me for the person I was then and later became,” Reed said. “Kicking that extra point instilled in me a great confidence to confront and endure through any adversity or obstacle in my life. It showed me that (valuable character quality of perseverance, just) as my coaches had confidence and believed in me.”

When contacted by email a few weeks ago and asked if he was indeed the one who booted the deciding extra point in 1980, Reed responded by saying, “Oh yes. How could I forget it!”

He remembers how G-P scored on its first possession that chilly, wet night. The Wildcats looked every bit as powerful as their previous teams that had won handily against the Valley during the prior 10 seasons. The Wildcats successfully kicked the extra point after their touchdown, but an offside penalty on Pace prompted them to take the penalty and do the play over. They went for a two-point conversion, which failed and left the score 6-0.

“You’re never supposed to take points off the scoreboard,” Foerster said.

Expecting inclement weather, Foerster had told his team to take along an extra set of underclothes and jerseys. The Pace players changed into dry apparel at intermission and came out looking and playing like a new team in the second half.

The Vikings put together a 14-play, 72-yard scoring drive on their first possession of the third quarter and tied it 6-6 on halfback Sal Di Grazia’s 4-yard run on a trap play off left guard with 4:38 to go in the period.

Kicking the extra point on a muddy, slippery field at G-P was no small matter. What normally would have been a routine play was anything but on such a cold, wet night. Because of a particularly muddy area right where the extra point was supposed to be placed, it was quickly decided to move the kicking spot back about five yards.

“I was treating this one as a field goal,” Reed said.

“We were in the huddle before the extra point and Billy Boehl, our center, looks right at me and says, ‘I swear Roman, you better make it,’” Reed recalled. “Ivy Arroyo, our left guard, then says, ‘Just make it. The defense will hold them — just do it.’ Then (wide receiver) Mark White looks at all of us in the huddle and says, ‘Hey, all I’ve really been worried about all game is which restaurant Coach Foerster has picked for dinner (after we win).’ Everyone laughed and on we went.”

Alvarez, who shared holder duties with White, intently watched the trajectory of the extra-point attempt.

“It wasn’t exactly clean as the kick sailed over (the top of) one of the goal posts,” said Alvarez, a retired Air Force veteran who has lived in Wichita Falls since 1987 and now works for the Department of Defense in air traffic control. “I looked at the ref (and thought) ‘What are you going to say?’ Playing on the road, I wasn’t sure we’d get the call, but oh my gosh, he put up his arms (indicating the kick was good) and that was the difference.”

DEFENSE STEPS UP

Just as Arroyo had predicted, the Pace defense came through with several big plays in the fourth quarter to secure the win against a G-P squad that had outscored its first 10 opponents that season 371-55. That night, the Wildcats had four penetrations compared to only one for the Vikings. It was an era before overtime when games finishing in a tie at the end of regulation in the playoffs were decided by such stats.

When it mattered most, the Vikings’ defense stepped up to the challenge.

Pace middle linebacker Luis Garcia dropped a G-P running back for a one-yard loss on fourth down to end a drive at the Viking 14 with 9:17 remaining. Then G-P’s soccer-style kicker missed a fairly close field-goal attempt with 6:15 to go after Alvarez had fumbled the ball away at the Pace 21.

The clincher came when Viking outside linebacker Javier Solis intercepted a G-P pass with 1:56 left to seal the victory.

At that moment, the Friday Nights Lights had never shined brighter for Pace and Brownsville, and the uncomfortable cold and wet game conditions didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Foerster today says the 1980 team was his best, without a doubt, although the 1979 Vikings with Sammy Montalvo, Preston Guilbeau, Steve Gonzalez, Pope Martinez, Ramiro Gomez and Cal Suarez were a pretty talented group as well and finished 9-1.

“It was a blessing to have those (assistant) coaches and players,” said Foerster, who typically was in the press box during games and relayed instructions to the coaches on the field via a headset. “The coaches were great and our players were hungry to succeed.

“It was a great experience, that’s all I can say,” he added.

Unfortunately, Pace’s magical season came to an end one week after beating G-P as the Vikings lost to top-ranked Bay City 42-14 in the 4A state quarterfinals to finish 11-1.

“We were not expected to be that successful,” said Arzola, now a general manager for a Houston manufacturing company who lives in Missouri City. “The thing about that team and that season is I learned by pulling together as a unit we were able to accomplish great things. It taught me about teamwork and working toward a common goal. I also learned not to be intimidated by what seems impossible.”

Foerster’s assistants included Leonel Garza (offensive coordinator), Speedy Garza (defensive coordinator), Jesus Amaya (offensive line), Mario A. Leal (defensive line), Leonel Casas (sub-varsity), Henry Martinez (sub-varsity), Gil Vicinaiz (sophomores), James Kizer (freshmen) and Tony Barbosa (freshmen). Leonel Garza, Amaya, Casas, Kizer and Henry Martinez later became head football coaches themselves.

“It was a great staff,” said Foerster, the All-Valley Coach of the Year in 1980 who after Pace coached at Corpus Christi King and Bishop before retiring in 2000. “Those guys did the real coaching.”

Foerster, now 76, lives in Corpus Christi. Prior to coming to Pace in 1978, he coached at Mission, Los Fresnos and Hanna. Run and Shoot proponent Jerry Tomsu, who died in 2009 at age 77, was Foerster’s coaching mentor at Mission and Los Fresnos.

SOMETHING TO PROVE

All-state receiver Hector Martinez said the players and coaches combined to make the squad of 1980 quite a unique one.

“We had a very good team and we played well together,” he said. “We practiced a lot and we had exceptional coaches who taught us a lot. Our team chemistry was very good and so was our passing game. We didn’t drop very many balls.”

Martinez, a second-team all-stater, was named the 1980 All-Valley offensive MVP for his 53 receptions totaling 898 yards on the season. He had a then Valley-record 18 TD receptions in 1980. Alvarez earned first-team all-state, All-South Texas and All-Valley honors at QB in 1980, completing 122 of 237 passes for 1,805 yards and 26 TDs with 11 interceptions.

Other Pace players receiving All-Valley recognition that season were White at safety/wide receiver, Ivy Arroyo at offensive guard, Di Grazia at running back, Arturo Rios at defensive lineman and Luis Garcia at middle linebacker.

Along with the previously mentioned players, other Vikings receiving 16-4A All-District recognition included center Tony Olivares, offensive tackle Juan Rey, running back Javier Solis, defensive back Jerry Canul and defensive lineman Billy Boehl.

Other team members included Joseph Martinez, Margarito Alegria, Victor Gilliam, John Longoria, Larry Diaz, George Flores, David Combe, Andy Vega, Mark Perez, Tony Morales, Juan Sanchez, Carlos Hernandez, David Bryan, Santos Salazar and Rene Leal.

Sadly, White and Luis Garcia were among the team members who died at relatively young ages 20 or more years ago.

Still, the legacy of the 1980 Pace Vikings lives on, even after 37 years, as the players are now in their 50s.

“It was a pleasure to do battle with my brothers on that team,” said Arroyo, who now lives in Pflugerville and does public relations work for a law firm. “The most amazing thing about the majority of the guys on that team was they took their football experience and applied it to their lives. Today, most of the guys are business professionals, law enforcement officers, teachers and coaches — all in positions of leadership. They’ve all been successful in their own right.

“Back then, every practice was a game to us,” he added. “We had something to prove to everybody, including ourselves.”

Joe Alberico

Staff Writer

Through his willingness to quickly relieve a nagging ache or pain, John-Ray Gonzalez has gained a reputation within his circle of friends as the resident massage therapist.

Outside of that circle, the Harlingen native is a licensed one. And quite good to boot.

Just ask his new friend — UFC fighter Michael Johnson.

“I actually haven’t had real great work until I met John-Ray,” said Johnson, the No. 9-ranked competitor in the UFC’s lightweight division. “I’ve only worked with John-Ray (since meeting him). If I have an opportunity to get him out, I make sure I can.”

By ‘get him out,’ Johnson means flying Gonzalez to Las Vegas, a common host city of the UFC’s nationally televised events and pay-per-views. Gonzalez recently spent a week in Sin City ahead of Johnson’s July 7 lightweight fight against UFC newcomer Justin Gaethje in the main event of the UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series finale fight card on Fox Sports 1.

Gatheje defeated Johnson by TKO in the final seconds of Round 2 in what many have deemed the fight of the year so far in 2017.

Gonzalez spent the week attached to Johnson’s hip, grinding out knots, strains and bruises Johnson endured during a rigorous training regiment leading up to his bout.

“I move differently when John-Ray works on me,” Johnson added. “I can feel that I’m stronger in different areas.”

The Vegas venture wasn’t Gonzalez’s first gig with Johnson. He also helped the St. Louis product prior to his TKO of Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC Fight Night on September 17, 2016, at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo.

It hasn’t taken long for Johnson to become a believer.

“(Massage therapy) is very essential. People see the fights and they don’t think we’re putting our bodies through much. But it’s not the fight — it’s the training camps. It’s the 10-12 weeks we’re killing our bodies before the fight. That’s what John-Ray is here for.”

Before is the key for Gonzalez, who at just 24 years old owns and operates the Greater Therapeutics massage clinic at 1409 Stuart Place Road in Harlingen, and has made his living preparing his clients for a higher quality of life.

The Harlingen South High School graduate left behind a dead-end job as a restaurant server to pursue a passion for people. That fervor took him to the South Texas Vocational Technical Institute, where he earned his education in massage therapy before becoming licensed in his field in Jan. 2016.

“I was so hungry for knowledge. I was never the best in my class, but that never stopped me from pursuing and achieving my goal,” Gonzalez said of his time at STVTI. “I had to spend hours and hours studying.”

Gonzalez spent his 7 1/2 months at STVTI learning anatomy, physiology and pathology before eventually moving on to message techniques for each portion of the human body. Prior to earning his graduate certificate, he was required to complete 700 hours of school time and an internship, and said he got his money’s worth.

“It was harder than it looked,” he said. “There were tests I had to take twice. I would finish classes, go to tutoring for a few hours and then go home and study more. I wanted to be the best I could be.”

Gonzalez said two motives propelled him during his initial schooling: a desire to help people and a refusal to spend his working life behind a computer or in a restaurant.

“I love people,” he said. “And I knew if I could do something to better other people’s lives, I’d be happier with the direction my own life was going.”

Gonzalez’s desire to aid others by perfecting his craft took an interesting path that led him to Johnson and elevated his skillset.

After finding an ad for a massage therapy training program in a magazine, Gonzalez took a plane to Boca Raton, Florida, where he trained under world-renowned massage therapist George Kousaleos, a 39-year veteran of the craft who has made his mark working with NFL athletes, Olympians and others during his decades-long career.

Kousaleos’ program runs for just 10 weeks out of the year, and Gonzalez was one of 60 students to train under the instructor in 2016.

It was under Kousaleos that Gonzalez learned a new technique named CORE myofascial therapy — or CORE sports body work. According to Kousaleous, CORE myofascial therapy focuses on structural integration body work, and goes beyond surface tissues with an emphasis on intrinsic tissues to improve balance and flexibility improvement.

The training saw Gonzalez hone his skills on current NFL players, including New Orleans Saints veteran running back Mark Ingram, and then-rookies Joey Bosa (San Diego Chargers) and Keanu Neal (Atlanta Falcons) who were preparing for the NFL combine. It was during his week in Florida that Gonzalez also met and began to develop his relationship with Johnson.

“My time in Florida really changed my career,” Gonzalez said. “It made me realize how much I enjoy working with athletes, and how much athletes can get out of what I do.”

Kousaleos said Gonzalez’s passion was visible from the moment the training began, and said the young therapist has a future in sports therapy if he decides to pursue it.

“He was younger than most of the therapists that came in, but I could tell that he was dedicated and had great skills,” Kousaleos said. “I think whatever he does he probably displays that level of passion. It’s not manufactured, it’s sincere.

“I hope someday I get a call from the Dallas Cowboys where someone tells me ‘Give me four massage therapists, we want to interview them.’ John-Ray would be at the top of the list.”

In the meantime, Gonzalez is hopeful he can convince local high school athletes, among others, to discover the benefits of massage therapy.

“My goal right now is to expand my business and bring things that aren’t normally brought to the Rio Grande Valley,” Gonzalez said. “I want to bring a certain type of recovery that will allow our athletes to explode and play their best — to gain attention and to go to the best colleges in America.

“People look at a high school like Austin West Lake and say ‘Man, they have a nutritionist and a massage therapist,’ but hey, I’m here. I’m right here in the Valley and I can help.”

PHARR — The shining moment of a lifetime arrived Saturday for nine new inductees at the 30th annual Rio Grande Valley Hall of Fame banquet.

The nine honorees comprised the Class of 2017 and each was recognized for the individual contributions he or she made to sports in the Valley. They joined the likes of Tom Landry, Leo “Najo” Alaniz, Bobby Morrow and the many others who have been inducted over the years since the RGV Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1985.

Approximately 450-plus attendees were on hand to witness Saturday’s historic night at Pharr’s Boggus Ford Events Center.

The new enshrinees included Tom Chavez (Brownsville football), Tony Villarreal Jr. (Brownsville football), Manuel Hinojosa (Port Isabel sports artist/sports historian), Jim Lancaster (Edinburg sports medicine), Sonia Sepulveda Dempsey (Edinburg track), Harlan Woods (Mission journalism), Frank Hernandez (Mission football), Ruben Gonzales (McAllen track) and Jim Norris (Mercedes football).

It was an event to remember and a long time in coming for Villarreal.

“The reality is I’m 84 and I’ve waited and waited for this day a long time,” said Villarreal, who received an All-American high school award in football as a speedy, shifty junior halfback who rushed for 1,010 yards on 99 carries and a Valley-best 17 touchdowns for the Brownsville High Golden Eagles in 1951. “They called me (about being inducted) and I was very happy.

The Lord has blessed me greatly,” added Villarreal, the father of longtime Valley football coach Tony Villarreal III. “He gave me the ability to play and has blessed me my whole life. At 84, I can see the end of the horizon, and I’m a very happy man.”

Chavez began coaching football in Brownsville in 1969 and became the head coach for the Rivera Raiders in 1988. Besides guiding Rivera to five district championships, he also coached Hanna to the district title in 2009. Chavez said he has many people to thank throughout his time as a coach. He has also served as Brownsville ISD athletic director.

“It’s a good day,” Chavez said. “There are a lot of reasons why I’m here. We’ve had a good run at Rivera and there are many athletes and (assistant) coaches (to thank for it). That’s why I’m here (being inducted).

“I think this event is nice,” Chavez added. “I’m happy to be here for Rivera High School and Brownsville. I’m still coaching and it’s hard to realize how time has gone by (so quickly). It’s all good.”

Hinojosa is a sports portrait artist/architect/sports memorabilia collector who is part owner of Doubleday Bar of Champions in Port Isabel. It is the site of the Valley’s most extensive array of sports memorabilia, mostly from pro athletes.

There’s no doubt about it, this is a great honor,” said Hinojosa, a 1968 Mission High graduate. “I’m a little nervous about it. I never thought something like this would happen to me. I’ve been at many banquets and I’ve seen so many people honored. I never thought this opportunity would happen for me.”

X

A phone call turned into a decades-long football coaching career for Tom Chavez.

That can happen when that call comes from Rio Grande Valley sports legend and then-Brownsville High football coach Joe Rodriguez.

The offer from Rodriguez was for Chavez to run what would become a stout defense for the 1969 Eagles — arguably the best football team the city has ever produced.

That unique opportunity combined with an extraordinary ’69 season to produce a new calling for Chavez, who would soon make his own mark on the sidelines as a head coach. A total of 27 seasons later, Chavez has amassed 139 victories, including four outright district titles and a couple more that were shared. Chavez’s success on the gridiron ultimately led to the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, as his growing legacy was honored along with eight others during an induction ceremony Saturday in Pharr.

“He’s the winningest football coach in the history of Brownsville football,” Rodriguez said. “The players that stay with his program come in as boys and when they get out, they’re men.”

Chavez’s own transformation — from player to coach — began simply with a connection and a straightforward phone call.

Prior to the ’69 season, Rodriguez was in need of an assistant after Burl Etheridge told him that he was leaving for another job. Prior to his departure, Etheridge promised Rodriguez: “I’ll get you someone as good, if not better.”

Etheridge, who played football and baseball at New Mexico Highlands University in Albuquerque, New Mexico, recommended Chavez, a former teammate and graduate assistant, who happened to be looking for a coaching position. Prior to that, Chavez was a four-year starter at middle linebacker for the then-NAIA school that was one of the nation’s best at the time under coach John Levra.

“(Etheridge) told me about Tom,” Rodriguez said. “I talked to (Chavez) over the phone … and he took a chance.”

Chavez was told during the phone call that if he were willing to come to Brownsville, he would have a job.

“I got in my 1966 Chevy Caprice and drove up here,” Chavez said. “And the rest is history.”

The ’69 team that Chavez was a part of was a special one for Brownsville High. Led by a pair of All-State players in quarterback Desi Najera and two-way player Ruben Fernandez, the Eagles won a district title outright and averaged 37.2 points per game, one of the nation’s highest averages, according to Rodriguez.

The impressive offensive output, however, was just half the story. It turned out that Rodriguez made the right choice in tabbing Chavez to run his defense. The first-year defensive coordinator’s unit was just as good, allowing just 10.7 points per contest.

“I knew the techniques they taught (at New Mexico Highlands). We just left him alone (to be a coach),” Rodriguez said of Chavez’s first year on his staff. “He loved defense so much.”

After a 9-1 regular season, the Eagles faced a heavily favored Corpus Christi Miller team in its Class 4A bi-district playoff game. Brownsville’s defense held Miller, whose squad included three players that would eventually reach the NFL, to 15 points, and the Brownsville High offense scored a pair of touchdowns within a few minutes late in the fourth quarter to complete a 25-15 triumph. The Eagles would be upended by Seguin in the next round, but the team had cemented its legacy and continues to be remembered for what it accomplished.

“I got here, worked with Joe and that team … it kept rolling,” Chavez said of that special season. “It was good to be there and get a little success right away.

“Good things happened to me right away.”

Chavez continued as an assistant to Rodriguez through the 1973 season, when his former boss decided to retire from coaching.

Soon after, the Brownsville Independent School District decided to split Brownsville High into three schools, which saw Brownsville rename itself Brownsville Hanna as Pace and Porter were also erected. Chavez would become Hanna’s first head football coach.

Chavez coached two seasons at Hanna, going 6-12-2 before leaving the school district to begin a sabbatical to work in private business. Some of those ventures even included Rodriguez over the next dozen years.

But fate intervened, so to speak. Brownsville was growing and by 1988, was ready to add another high school to the city’s landscape.

That year, Rivera opened its doors with only freshmen and sophomores. Chavez was hired to develop the football program and become its first head coach. After playing at the sub-varsity level for a couple years, the Raiders were ready for varsity competition in 1990.

Chavez was the first hire for the new high school and that notion didn’t sit well with some.

“I got the job before the principal and there was a lot of controversy over that,” he said of his return to the gridiron. “But it worked out.”

Chavez was ready to blossom as a coach in his second stint, applying the same toughness, coaching style and philosophies from Levra, and what he had learned under Rodriguez to good use. He even utilized some of the same drills from his playing days at New Mexico Highlands in his practices.

It didn’t take long for Chavez to find success. In his second season, Rivera finished runner-up in the district and earned a postseason berth. In 1996 and 1997, the Raiders finished runner-up in district before winning back-to-back, outright district titles in 1998-99.

During that time Rivera played two of its more revered playoff games under Chavez. In 1996, the Raiders pushed Victoria and its NCAA Division I prospect running back to the brink in the second round, losing a heartbreaking game 44-38 in four overtimes on a pick-six interception to seal (or steal) the game for Victoria. Three years later, Rivera reached the third round against an equally tough San Antonio Marshall squad with a talented running back. The Raiders held the back in check for a half and led by a touchdown at the break. Marshall’s running back, which had totaled over 2,300 yards on the ground that season, found his groove in the second half and helped upend Rivera 27-21. While the Raiders lost those games, the precedent was set. Teams under Chavez could play and weren’t going to be afraid of anyone.

Chavez spent five more years at Rivera, winning another district title and sharing another. In 2005, Chavez was at Donna High for a pair of campaigns before returning to Brownsville for his second stint at Hanna.

In his third season, after a couple years of struggle, Chavez led Hanna to a district title 40 years after helping the 1969 team do the same.

More change was on the horizon. Rodriguez, who returned to BISD in 1991 to fulfill the athletic director position, was set to retire in 2010. His handpicked successor was his former assistant, former business partner and long-time friend, Chavez.

The school district was also set to open its sixth high school: Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

Chavez served his new position for two years before finding the urge to return to the sidelines. David Cantu, Rivera’s coach for two years, became the first coach at Brownsville Veterans while Chavez returned as the Raiders’ coach for the second time in 2012.

Although change was good for a growing school district, Chavez said he longed for the days when every school was similar in enrollment and playing in the same district.

“We used to be all together,” he said. “We had the city championship, but we can’t do that anymore, we don’t all play each other.

“It meant something for pride.”

Since his return to Rivera, Chavez has reached the playoffs twice, including a shared district title and another postseason run to the third round.

In the last year, he has also once again added the BISD athletic director position to his duties on an interim basis. Mark Guess, who held the position from 2012-2016, made his own return to the sidelines, taking over the head coach/athletic coordinator duties at Hanna when long-time Brownsville coach Rene Medrano retired. Chavez is expected to continue as athletic director for BISD as well as coach the Raiders for the upcoming school year.

As his coaching career reaches 35 years, Chavez, 71, has never been one to accept the spotlight. But the success speaks for itself.

In 2014, Chavez was one of 15 recipients of the University Interscholastic League Sponsor Excellence Award chosen from nominations submitted by school principals and superintendents from across the state. According to the UIL, the award was created to identify and recognize outstanding sponsors who enable students to develop and refine their extracurricular talents to the highest degree possible within the educational system.

“That meant a lot because of the kids,” Chavez said of the UIL award. “I wish I could give a small piece of that award to each of them. I’m just there. They’re the ones on the field and are a big part of my success.”

For Chavez, coaching has given him a greater purpose.

“I loved working with the kids,” he said. “I love helping out, being a father figure to the boys. I don’t do that for trophies … well maybe district championships, to win games. But to get (those type of) awards, that’s not worth it.”

The road to the RGV Sports Hall of Fame was one that Chavez actually tried to avoid.

Rodriguez said Chavez was considered for the honor years ago, but Chavez didn’t want the attention.

“Tom is a very humble guy,” Rodriguez said. “I’m very proud of him. He’s the most deserving coach we’ve ever had (in the RGV Sports Hall of Fame), I’ll tell you that … that’s all I have to say.”

For Chavez, it was never his goal. But he finally accepted the honor to have the opportunity to thank those who influenced him and contributed to his success over the years.

“To be honest, it’s not a big part of me,” Chavez said of his induction. “I’m guess I’m getting it because something good happened. It goes to a lot of people I’ve worked with … my coaches, Joe … if he wouldn’t have made that call, I wouldn’t be down here. This is for all the kids I’ve coached. It’s good, but it wasn’t my goal. It wouldn’t hurt me one bit if I wasn’t (a part of the Hall of Fame).

“I look at my career and it’s been great … but it ain’t over yet.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

Never before has someone of Manuel Hinojosa’s unique stature been inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sport Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1985.

He’s an artist/architect/sports historian/sports memorabilia collector (and more) who has spent a lifetime involved in projects closely affiliated with athletics and well-known sports figures.

The 67-year-old Mission native will join eight other inductees to comprise the Class of 2017 at Saturday’s 30th annual RGV Sports Hall of Fame banquet at Boggus Ford Events Center in Pharr.

Tickets for the event are no longer available. It begins with a reception at 4 p.m. The banquet follows at 5 p.m. and the program starts at 6 p.m.

Besides Hinojosa, the 2017 inductees include Tom Chavez (Brownsville football), Tony Villarreal (Brownsville football), Ruben Gonzales (McAllen track), Frank Hernandez (Mission football), Jim Lancaster (Edinburg sports medicine), Jim Norris (Mercedes football), Sonia Sepulveda Dempsey (Edinburg track) and Harlan Woods (Mission journalism).

Hinojosa, already inducted into a hall of fame in Laredo, said his life is a charmed one.

“I’m doing the things that make me feel very satisfied,” said Hinojosa regarding his multitude of activities, which for the most part all revolve around sports. “It’s a wonderful feeling and I’m a very happy person.”

Hinojosa is a 1968 graduate of Mission High who earned all-district honors for the Eagles in football while playing for legendary coach Lum Wright along side teammates Eliseo Pompa and Bobby Jack Wright. He earned an undergraduate degree in art from Pan American University in 1974 and received a masters in architecture from Southwestern Louisiana University in 1977.

Since the time he was hired as Port Isabel’s city manager in 1987, Hinojosa has remained a resident of the small town by the Gulf with a lighthouse and continues to commute weekdays to McAllen for his work as an architect.

For the past 12 years, Hinojosa has been part owner of Doubleday Bar of Champions with his brother Rick Hinojosa, a structural engineer. Also part of the ownership team is Norma Hinojosa, Manuel’s wife of 26 years who is a native of Elsa.

The sports bar is located in Port Isabel on Highway 100, and actually is more like a sports museum that serves refreshments and food, thanks to its wall-to-wall displays of famous pro athletes’ jerseys, portraits, balls and bats, and other items including sports figurines, particularly just about every player of note for the Dallas Cowboys. The facility houses the Valley’s most extensive collection of sports memorabilia.

“If I’ve given anything back, it’s having a place like this where I have the opportunity to showcase all these sports items and let others see them, particularly the kids,” said Hinojosa, who was inducted into the International Latin Sports Hall of Fame in Laredo in 2016. “I see dads explaining to their children who a certain athlete was, and the next time they come in, the kids remember and many times they’re the ones doing the talking (and telling others about the athletes). It (the sports legacy) is passed on (from generation to generation). This is a place where they learn a little about the sports heroes their dads grew up with and some of them (showcased here are) even before that.”

Beyond the sports memorabilia displays, there’s most notably Hinojosa’s drawing skills, which came into demand more than 50 years ago when he was hired as a youngster to paint the eagle mascot on the sides of school buildings in Mission and on the floors of gymnasiums.

It wasn’t long before he developed a distinctive talent that fueled his passion for painting portraits of renowned sports figures, who in turn have autographed the works for him.

His autographed portraits include Mickey Mantle, Muhammad Ali, Dan Marino, David Robinson, Ted Williams, Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson, Wilt Chamberlain, Terry Bradshaw, Joe DiMaggio, Brett Favre, Magic Johnson, Sammy Baugh, Pete Rose, Roger Staubach and others.

“I like the idea of painting a (sports) celebrity and having them touch (autograph) it,” Hinojosa said. “I feel like I’ve made contact with them in that (brief) period of time.”

Hinojosa has used his architectural abilities to design several athletic facilities in the Valley. They include Brownsville’s Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center, the Earl Scott Field House adjoining the football field at Donna’s Bennie LaPrade Stadium and the recently constructed high school gymnasium at Edcouch-Elsa along with other South Texas athletic structures.

The artist/architect also is close to becoming a published author. He soon will complete a four-year project and release a book about the remarkable life of retired world-class jockey Herbie Hinojosa of Brownsville (no relation), whose career reached a high point in the early 1960s when he rode horses that won millions of dollars. He rode horses in the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, along with many other top horse racing events.

Perhaps Hinojosa’s most renowned and challenging work was painting the Tom Landry mural in the mid-1990s over a 95 x 18 foot space on the side of a building at the intersection of Tom Landry Street and Conway Avenue in downtown Mission. The late Dallas Cowboys coach (1924-2000) was born and raised in Mission. The city wanted to honor Landry, so Hinojosa was contracted to paint the mural on a building owned by Bill and Gen Long. The colorful and detailed mural still exists, having undergone a renovation or two in recent years.

The project took a year to complete and it depicts the life and football career of Mission’s favorite son. Hinojosa said Landry was involved with the project throughout its entirety. Hinojosa came to know the famous coach and gained an even greater respect for him.

“Coach Landry once called me his friend (when introducing me back then to someone he knew) and I was so honored,” Hinojosa said.

The mural was dedicated on Sept. 18, 1995, with Landry on hand as the featured guest for the ceremony.

Hinojosa remembers Landry was introduced at the dedication, got up and told the crowd, “I still don’t know why you’re honoring me, he’s the one who painted it (the coach said while pointing at Hinojosa).”

When Landry died on Feb. 12, 2000, residents of Mission and surrounding areas placed flowers at the foot of the mural in honor of the beloved coach. Hinojosa said within a day or so, the scene at the mural with all the flowers was pictured on the front page of the San Antonio Express News.

It was a time Hinojosa says he will never forget along with all the other events that have impacted his life.

“I’m just a sports fan who loves to paint and hear (and research) sports stories,” he said.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By MARK MOLINA, Staff Writer

When it comes to the history of Brownsville football, a good starting point is always the 1951 Brownsville High Eagles, led by legendary head coach Bobby Martin.

Propelling that team on the field was Tony Villarreal Jr., who rushed for 1,010 yards and helped lead the Eagles to a state semifinal before being named a National High School All-American by the Wigwam Wiseman of America Football Committee.

It’s the reason he will be honored next Saturday when he will be inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame.

But don’t look for Villarreal Jr. to sit and reminisce on his abilities or how good his team was on its way to the state semifinals.

To him, it was simply fun and games.

“I played, I enjoyed it, I put in my best and that’s it,” Villarreal Jr. said. “I never went around saying ‘I’m Tony Villarreal’ and this and that. I played to participate and compete, not to be remembered for doing this and that. I didn’t give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ or thank my parents for giving me this ability of speed and quickness — I didn’t think about that back then.”

While Villarreal Jr. didn’t think much of his own feats, son and longtime Rio Grande Valley football coach Tony Villarreal III is the first to point out that his father’s standout year was more impressive as you dive into the numbers.

“I was in awe and I’m a stat guy,” said Villarreal III, who didn’t even know his father was a football star until he was a high school freshman. “He had 1,010 yards and that doesn’t seem like a lot, but he touched the ball just 99 times. He also played for the legendary Bob Martin, who coached Tom Landry in Mission … I was always in awe of his team and what he accomplished. My dad has always been like ‘Whatever, man, it’s no big deal.’

“What’s most impressive is looking back in the 50s when you see how people of color were treated and for my dad to be honored like he was, he must have been incredible.”

Along with learning of his father’s star status, it wasn’t until Villarreal III’s freshman year at Brownsville High in 1972 that he even learned Villarreal Jr. graced the gridiron.

“One of the freshman coaches was like ‘So you’re Tony Villarreal,’ and I said ‘Yes,’ and he said some thing like ‘We’ll see how good you are,’” Villarreal II said. “I wasn’t very good. I went home and I told dad what happened and he said ‘Well I guess I played a little bit, there’s a scrap book over there.’ And when I saw it I was like ‘Oh my God, who have I been living with?’”

But the fact that Villarreal Jr. was fast isn’t lost on him as he recalls being given a pair of nicknames, but they aren’t anything he’s looking to brand.

“In Matamoros (Mexico) they used to call me ‘El Caballete’ (The Dragon Fly) because of the way I ran,” Villarreal Jr. said as he mimicked the insect’s quick back and forth patterns with his hands. “In school they would also call me ‘Sugar’ because some of the runs I broke off were just sweet.

“But like I tell Tony (Villarreal III), I did it, it’s part of my life and that’s it — let’s move on. There are many that stay (in the past) saying they did this and that and I don’t want to go around bragging.”

Villarreal Jr.’s humbleness is traced back to his upbringing as he grew up in Matamoros before coming to Brownsville after his father Tony Villarreal Sr. left him to live with his grandmother.

Meanwhile, Tony Sr., his wife Eliza and younger son Carlos moved to South America after being tasked with establishing a stockroom presence in Columbia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina following World War II for Pan American Airways.

“After World War II came to an end, everything in South America was German-controlled and Pan American was going to take over the routes,” Villarreal Jr. said. “So my father had to establish the stock room for the parts for the planes. He took my mother and little brother with him and left me with his mother here in Brownsville.”

Villarreal Jr. was groomed by the simpler times when most kids often left school and practices early to help out at home, while other people in the neighborhoods were ready to help each other.

“Those were the kids that were needed at home to survive because there was no welfare, food stamps or anything like that,” Villarreal Jr. said. “You had it or you didn’t, but I have to say the people would help each other. It was nothing for people to help you here and there. That was the good ‘ol days— nobody was spoiled.”

Villarreal Jr. skipped his senior football season per his mother’s wishes and his father’s persuasion, but easily left it and opted to watch from the sidelines as a fan and young man.

But soon after he was off to Texas A&M, where he said he became a realist about his athletic abilities and was shown firsthand the large gap between Valley athletes and the rest of the state.

It started with the famous Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant, who coached Texas A&M back then.

“I went up to coach Bryant and said that I wanted to try out for the football team and he looked at me and asked ‘Did you want to be the equipment manager?’ and told me that I was just too little,” Villarreal Jr. recalled. “I was 138 pounds, about 5’6. There was a guy with one arm and he was 220 pounds and 6’2 and I couldn’t even tackle him and he ran the ball just as good. They told me I was quick but I was too light. I’d get to the corner and I was met by a guy 250 pounds who could run with me.”

“I found out there were players who really, really deserved the honors (I received).”

Villarreal Jr. played freshman football but did little else at A&M and returned home two years later. He would marry his now-wife of 60 years Evangelina and eventually put his two years of education to use as a sought-after factory worker.

But he knew working and supporting a family is what he would always do.

“My parents always told me to study so I won’t come home and dig ditches,” Villarreal said. “If you want to improve your life and future, you have got to study. If the chance is there to study, take it.”

It’s those words that have resonated in son Tony III, daughter Magda and even in grandson Anthony Villarreal.

“Grandpa was always a humble man and was a no-nonsense kind of guy,” Anthony Villarreal said. “He has always been a get-to-work, actions-speak-louder-than-words kind of gentleman. I think a lot of what he did for our family was instilling a strong belief system in my father and that has permeated to everything my dad has touched.

“My father raising me was instilled in him by my grandfather and my father has spread that to every kid he has coached over the years.”

While Tony Jr. was a humble soul doing his best to raise a family, Tony III took his father’s teachings and began slowly trying to bridge the divide between RGV athletes and the rest of the state.

After learning of his father’s accomplishments, Villarreal III would eventually make the varsity football team as a junior at the newly renamed Hanna High School as a wide receiver for then-head coach Tom Chavez.

By the end of his football career, Villarreal III would become an All-District and an All-Valley wide receiver, but his biggest athletic accomplishments came on the diamond as a baseball player.

During his sophomore year, Villarreal III made the varsity baseball team.

With the eventual Brownsville High split still a year away, the student body stood at more than 6,000 strong, which made the feat mean more for Villarreal III.

“I was a baseball player and I was really just hanging out with the guys during football,” he said. “I had already made the varsity baseball team as the starting catcher. That was with Brownsville High with 6,000 kids, so that was a big deal for me.”

Villarreal went on to Texas Southmost College after graduating from Hanna in 1976 and joined the baseball team. He led the team in hitting in 1977 and helped his team become the Texas representative in the Junior College World Series.

After two years with the program, he’d transfer to Southern Methodist University and join the baseball team there as a walk on.

But after graduating in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a minor in history, Villarreal’s football coaching future was set in motion.

The new graduate wanted to be successful and he turned to the legendary Charlie Williams and McAllen High.

“When I came out of college I wanted to be with winners and I just wanted to learn,” Villarreal said. “I wanted to be with a winning program. I had a little success in football in my two years in high school. I didn’t know I was going to be a football coach but I knew you had to go through that to be with the winners and Charlie Williams was probably the winningest coach in the Valley at the time.”

Villarreal would get the job and start learning the trade under Williams and his staff as the junior varsity baseball and football coach.

By 1982, Villarreal III had the McAllen JV team going strong with just a two-man coaching staff, drawing the eyes of then-PSJA High coach Bruce Bush, a 2006 Coastal Bend Hall of Honor inductee, during a game.

That would earn Villarreal III another opportunity.

“That spring (1983) Bruce Bush moved on and got a job in Alice and he called me asking if I wanted to join his staff,” Villarreal said. “That was my first varsity job and I was the youngest varsity backfield coach in Alice High School history. I knew then and there I wanted to be a football coach and with Bruce, if you didn’t learn, you must be dead.”

So Villarreal landed under yet another standout coach and quickly began to catch on to Bush’s “workaholic” mentality.

After three years in Alice, Villarreal moved back to the Valley to rejoin Williams, this time at PSJA High, and married his wife Arlene in 1987.

Soon after, Villarreal found himself at Port Isabel as an offensive coordinator and the eventual successor to Chris Cavazos in 1990.

And the pressure was on.

“Port Isabel had a winning tradition with many successful coaches,” Villarreal III said. “I applied out of survival so I wouldn’t get fired and I got the job. Fortunately, we always had a tradition with the kids working hard and they loved football. It wasn’t easy because they expected you to be in the third round or better.

“I got a call from the superintendent asking what I needed and after I told them they’d say ‘Okay, you better win,’” Villarreal III recalls.

By 1993, Villarreal III had the Tarpons in the third round of the playoffs where they were dismissed by Cuero, 63-8.

That loss set the stage for one of the greatest season’s in Valley football history.

“To this day, that was the worst beating I ever gotten,” Villarreal said. “Cuero had a bunch of DI players go play at Texas, (Texas) A&M and all over the country. One of the things people don’t know is we had injuries and limped into that game. We both had junior ball clubs at the time and knew we’d face them again next year.”

Over the next year Villarreal and his staffed prepared vigorously for a potential rematch, creating special schemes, game planning and even subscribing to Cuero-area newspapers.

Villarreal III said he had 12 papers being sent to him and benefited from the heavily detailed game stories writers used to offer up in the mid 90s.

Sure enough, the rematch would happen in the 1994 regional playoffs with Port Isabel and No.1 state-ranked Cuero, who was led by former Los Fresnos head coach Clint Finley at quarterback, coming in a perfect 12-0.

Port Isabel would trail in the game but would rally to force a 20-20 tie at the end of regulation.

The Tarpons would advance on penetrations, as there was no high school overtime back then.

With Cuero also being a top-10 team in the nation that year news of them being upset spread fast.

“The USA Today called me the next day asking me what happened because they weren’t answering the phone at Cuero and I told them they could interview me if they wanted,” Villarreal III said with a laugh. “I told them that Cuero was out and we were in.”

Villarreal III and the Tarpons would fall to eventual 1994 3A state champion Sealy in the state semifinals, but the win over Cuero would be among the biggest in the Valley’s history and would help Villarreal III bridge the proverbial gap between the RGV and the rest of the state

“I’ve always been one to think that Valley athletes can play at the next level,” Villarreal III said. “Ever since I was a young coach I always told the kids they could do anything and accomplish anything, but you have to get passed the No. 1 team in the state.

“I guess it’s because I played college baseball but I always felt that we in the Valley are just as good as good as anybody. I think us winning that game laid the ground work for all the teams that have had deep playoff success.”

Villarreal went on to accomplish much more in his career, leading PSJA North and Hanna to each program’s first district titles. Of his 27 years as a football coach, he has qualified for the postseason 20 times, including 10 as a district champion.

After joining Weslaco High in 2005, Villarreal III took the Panthers to 10 postseasons and three district titles before being reassigned to the administrator in charge of records this year.

His overall coaching record stands at 200-107-4.

While Villarreal III has become a coaching icon in the RGV, his success has been noticed most by his family.

His son Anthony Villarreal, who played for his father for four years from 2002 to 2005 at Hanna and Weslaco and later went on to graduate from Texas A&M and become a dentist, says his father’s work ethic is second to none.

“The road to become a dentist was a long one,” Anthony Villarreal said. “But it always comes back to the work ethic my dad instilled in me. Playing football for him was a full-time job with the amount of studying you had to do. Making it on a coach Tony coached team made dental school seem survivable for me.”

As for Villarreal Jr, he sees his son’s success and impact as far more important than anything he ever personally accomplished on the gridiron or a baseball field.

“I like him as a coach and he’s been successful,” Villarreal Jr. said of his son. “He always had district championships and who knows how many bi-district championships he’s had. I tell him that he turned out better than an athlete; he turned out to be a coach that knows how to mold a team.”

Valley football’s rich history influenced by ‘Gridiron Greats’

By Roy Hess, Staff Writer

Texans love their football. That’s a fact.

And here in South Texas, that statement stands most assuredly true.

On the border, along the southernmost tip of the Lone Star State, the game’s history dates back more than 100 years.

Thanks to an old article in The Brownsville Herald, we know the first football game in the Rio Grande Valley was played in Brownsville on Dec. 11, 1909, which was a Saturday. It was a day game since no lighted fields existed in those days.

The contest, played at a site later known as Tucker Field, matched Brownsville High and Kingsville High, and the visiting team won 11-5. At the time (at least in that game), touchdowns counted five points, not six.

Kingsville boasted the advantage of already having played one game, while it was the inaugural outing for the Brownsville boys, who did as well as they could, according to Ed Roark, whose account of the Valley’s first game appeared in The Herald on Dec. 13, 1909.

In his post-game story, Roark wrote of the Brownsville team: “When it is considered that some of the local players had never seen a football before this season and that they have had no scrubs to practice against, their showing was remarkably good.”

That was just the beginning of football in Brownsville and eventually in the Valley.

Following that initial contest, things could only get better, and of course, they did.

Scrimmaging against soldiers stationed at Fort Brown back in the decade of 1910-20 or thereabouts helped improve football in Brownsville as it took its first steps toward becoming what it is today. The sport is now a top attraction around the state at the high school level and beyond.

Yes, the game’s advancements since the early days have been many. The athletes now are bigger, faster, stronger and more skillful. The facilities have improved as well, including the addition of lighted fields and artificial turf. The coaches have come up with more intricate plays and newer techniques while continuing to find ways to motivate players to give their best on the field.

Throughout the game’s history there have been countless individuals and teams that stand out as influences making football what it is today in Brownsville and the surrounding area.

This summer, The Herald is focusing on some of those influential individuals along with some stellar teams in a series of Sunday stories under the banner of “Metro Area Gridiron Greats: Faces of Influence.”

The series kicks off today with an in-depth look at Hank Hollingsworth, a highly regarded broadcaster for four decades at KBOR 1600 AM radio. Hollingsworth called his share of memorable football games over the years before stepping away from the mic about 2000 to continue a teaching career at Porter that lasted until his retirement in 2014.

The stories to be published in the coming weeks will come mostly from the area’s football era starting in the 1960s and continuing to the modern day. Besides Hollingsworth, included in the series will be profiles of Joe Rodriguez, Tom Chavez, Leonel Garza, Tony Villarreal Sr. and Tony Villarreal Jr., Tommy Roberts, Billy Garza, the 1980 Pace Vikings with Roman Reed as their kicker and the 1969 Brownsville High Golden Eagles with Desi Najera as their quarterback.

It figures to be an enlightening experience for the ones writing the stories as well as those reading them. At least that’s what we hope. The goal is to shed some additional light on the rich history of football in our area and focus upon what a few select individuals have meant to the game.

Please join us on the journey.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By Roy Hess, Staff Writer

Barely 20 years old, a young Hank Hollingsworth arrived at radio station KBOR 1600 AM in 1960 as a new employee.

He soon became “The Voice of Brownsville.”

Hollingsworth’s familiar, distinctive voice carried across the airwaves of the local radio station on Central Boulevard for four decades. It was a voice KBOR’s loyal listeners came to count upon and eagerly anticipate.

Hollingsworth arrived in South Texas at a time long before social media even existed, and back then, personal music streaming devices were better known as transistor radios.

In those days, listening to the radio was a popular pastime, and hearing Hollingsworth was like having an old friend drop by for a visit. He became a trusted companion through the airwaves as he gave daily news reports and provided football coverage for the city’s residents on Friday nights.

Along the way, the now-retired broadcaster/teacher, 77, made an indelible contribution to the coming of age of football in Brownsville.

Hollingsworth covered football games both before and after Brownsville High split into Porter, Pace and Hanna in the mid-1970s. As football in Brownsville evolved, so did KBOR and its “Voice of Brownsville” broadcaster.

“I would say broadcasting has defined my life,” said Hollingsworth, a 1958 graduate of Fort Worth Trimble Tech who began broadcasting football games for KBOR in the mid-1960s, mainly at Sams Memorial Stadium, and continued for approximately 35 years. “It was a great preparation for the classroom (as I became a teacher at Porter in 1984).

“You’re exposed to everything under the sun (in broadcasting),” he added. “It’s a world unto its own. It did so many good things for me.”

Along with broadcasting, Hollingsworth taught a variety of subjects, including history and economics, at Porter for 31 years before retiring in 2014.

During his radio career, Hollingsworth interviewed a number of well-known personalities who came to the Valley. They included Tom Landry and Roger Staubach of Dallas Cowboys fame, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Richard Nixon and several Texas politicians, including former Gov. Bill Clements.

He was the one at the mic to break the news to local listeners of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.

Hollingsworth’s football broadcasting career at KBOR lasted until about 2000 and the station closed down for good just a few years later. Located at 1934 Central Blvd., KBOR opened in 1948 and the vacant building at that address was just demolished a month or so ago to make way for another structure.

With every play-by-play description during football games, Hollingsworth dutifully kept the station’s many listeners well-informed.

After he had become a teacher at Porter in 1984, Hollingsworth remembers the time a fellow instructor approached him a few days after a game he called the previous Friday. The teacher said his son had been listening to Hollingsworth over the radio.

‘You were so excited about this (one particular) play and you kept going on and on about it,” the fellow instructor told Hollingsworth. ‘And after it was all over, the play had gained only one yard!”

“Yeah, I guess that was me,” Hollingsworth remembers saying in response.

The KBOR broadcast team gradually evolved to include at various times Ronnie Zamora, David Dierlam, Benny Bellamy and occasionally others.

“Hank gave me the opportunity to do my first sports broadcast work in 1985,” said Zamora, who became sports editor of The Brownsville Herald one month after his graduation from Brownsville High in 1972. “I was honored to work with such an icon in Brownsville sports history. I learned a lot from him and we had a lot of fun together for 15 years. It didn’t seem like work. It was more fun than anything else.”

The close relationship that developed between the two sports enthusiasts was something they came to embrace and cherish.

“I was color commentator for high school games with Hank on KBOR starting in 1985 and lasting 15 years,” said Zamora, who now is the communications and marketing coordinator for Los Fresnos CISD. “For the first 10 years or so, we would cover the best Brownsville game of the week, home or away. Then we started covering the best game in Cameron County. We saw some great games together with our sidekick David Dierlam, including (games with standout running back) Tony Ellis of Hanna from 1993-95. (After the games ended,) I would do live interviews on the field with the winning coach, while Hank would be in the press box.

“I know Hank was there to broadcast some memorable games, including the great Brownsville High teams of the (mid to late) 1960s, the Pace vs. Gregory-Portland shocker in 1980 (won by the Vikings 7-6), the Billy Garza Era at Porter (2002-03) and many other Brownsville playoff games.”

Added Hollingsworth, “Ronnie and I spent more time together (broadcasting games) than anyone. It was a very enjoyable experience.”

Dierlam remembers his time as part of the broadcast team as quite an enjoyable experience as well.

“Even though we were paid, I know Hank would have done it for free in a heartbeat,” said Dierlam, a 1975 Hanna graduate who continues to reside in Brownsville. “I did it for free for many years. I know he would love to see Brownsville teams in the playoffs, especially Porter.

“He has a great memory for the players he’s seen in the past,” Dierlam added. “Ronnie and I fed off that enthusiasm.”

Hollingsworth remembers the players and they remember him. Roman Reed, the Pace kicker who booted the extra point to lift his team to its milestone, one-point playoff victory over powerhouse G-P in 1980, recalls Hollingsworth coming out to the Vikings’ practice earlier that season and giving him some encouragement regarding his kicking.

“He’s a kind man who is very well remembered,” said Reed, who now lives in Bellaire, just outside of Houston.

Also on hand for games, although not part of the broadcast team, were Nancy Hollingsworth, Hank’s wife, along with Debbie, their daughter, whose name is now Debbie Hollingsworth-Robertson.

The Hollingsworths have been married 54 years.

“Oh yes, I was there at the games, too,” said Nancy Hollingsworth, a 1963 Brownsville High graduate. “I was engaged to Hank my junior and senior years in high school. It’s been great.

“We would be at the grocery store or somewhere around town back in those days when someone would hear Hank say something and then they’d say, ‘I know that voice,’” she added.

The couple’s daughter recalls a special time as a young girl most likely in the late 1970s when her father interviewed the legendary Dallas Cowboys coach.

“My favorite (memory) was Tom Landry,” Debbie said. “He picked me up in his arms.”

A pinnacle achievement for the longtime broadcaster/teacher came in 2004 when he was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame.

“It was overwhelming (to be inducted),” said Hollingsworth, who these days must stay connected to an oxygen canister to assist his breathing. “I’m a little guy who was born in East Texas and you don’t really expect things like that — not ever and not for any reason. It was unfathomable and I’m (still) humbled by it.

“God knew what He was doing when He sent me here 57 years ago,” Hollingsworth added. “The people I’ve met here are wonderful.

“I’ve actually become a real couch potato. I’d probably enjoy retirement more if my health (situation) wasn’t what it is right now, but let’s not complain. God is good and everything is OK.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

For the high school track star, it’s not every day that the University of Arkansas — perhaps the country’s preeminent track and field program — comes calling with scholarship in hand.

But that’s what happened to former Edinburg Vela high jumper Brendon Rivera three years ago. Arkansas wasn’t the only school vying for Rivera’s services. Kansas and Texas A&M wanted him, too, and Houston sent the great Olympian Carl Lewis to the Valley to try to get Rivera to sign.

But in 2014, Rivera went with Arkansas, where the men’s program has 10 NCAA track outdoor titles and 41 overall. The move is proving to be right. After taking a medical redshirt during his freshman year (2015-16), the former state champion has come on strong for the Razorbacks as he worked hard to get back to form.

“This year was a struggle after not jumping for a whole year,” Rivera said. “I had to fix a lot of things, but coming towards the end of the season, I started figuring things out. Come regionals, I sprained my ankle opening with a 6-6.”

But Rivera bounced back at the NCAA DI West Regionals, held last month at the University of Texas. He ended up clearing 6-10 3/4 and placed 27th. He was just 3 inches short of the winner and missed making the NCAA finals by just one bar.

The Vela alum and 2015 Class 5A state champion said being relegated to spectator for the entire 2015-16 year was difficult, especially with Arkansas taking the SEC track triple crown: winning the conference indoor track, outdoor track and cross country titles.

“It was definitely tough, especially because I knew I could have competed well,” he said.

However, once he was back, a motivated Rivera performed well during the winter 2016-17 indoor season, hen showed moxie by winning his first 2017 outdoor meet: the Baylor Invitational with a leap of 6-10. Three weeks later, at the LSU SEC Relays, he jumped a personal best 6-11 and landed in fourth place.

He did not place as high as he would have liked in the SEC conference championships, but the 6-11 leap earlier in the season was good enough to qualify him for one of the 48 spots at the NCAA regionals. That taste of success has Rivera wanting more.

“This coming year, I think it’s going to be a good year for me,” said Rivera, who added that he really likes the University of Arkansas. “I know what to focus on, and I’m motivated.”

ROWE’S LAUREN GARZA COMPLETES CAREER PITCHING AT OLLU

Former McAllen Rowe pitcher Lauren Garza did her part to help the Our Lady of the Lake University Saints make their seventh all-time appearance to the postseason Red River Athletic Conference Softball Championship.

The junior pitcher, on track receive her master’s degree in December, made 22 appearances and posted a 6-3 record this year. Garza pitched 61 1/3 innings and showed improvement over last year. The Rowe alum dropped her ERA from 5.13 to 1.83 and was better in several other categories.

The DIII Saints went as far as the RRAC semifinals and finished with a 25-22 overall record, 14-12 in conference. OLLU is an NAIA school in San Antonio.

SOUTH’S GONZALEZ MADE MARK AS FRESHMAN AT ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY

Harlingen South product Jeremiah Gonzalez made an immediate impact on St. Mary’s University’s tennis team with superb performances in singles and doubles play. The freshman was part of the NAIA Rattlers’ No. 1 doubles team that went 9-3 in its last 12 matches, and as a singles player he was just as impressive.

Gonzalez did not lose in his last nine outings. He won seven matches outright and had leads in two others that were not finished. The former Hawk and 2016 6A state silver medalist won all of his singles and doubles matches at the 2017 NCAA Division II championships — although his team exited in the first round. St. Mary’s won the DII Heartland Conference and the NCAA South Central Regional.

The freshman, winner of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association 2017 South Central Region Rookie of the Year award, ended up 15-6 overall as a singles player (playing mostly at No. 2) and 16-9 in doubles.

FORMER GREYHOUND GONZALEZ HELPS TURN AROUND SUL ROSS

Jav’ana Gonzalez was steady for the Sul Ross State Lobos in 2017. The San Benito alum batted .271 with 35 hits and 43 total bases in her sophomore season. Gonzalez also notched a fielding percentage of .942. The right-handed shortstop had only nine errors in 155 chances.

Gonzalez was the only player on the 13-27 (Lobos’ best mark ever) team that started all 40 games at the DIII university in Alpine — in west Texas near Big Bend National Park. The former Lady Greyhounds star also led the Lobos in the hit-by-pitch category with six and ranked second in runs scored.

Know an RGV athlete doing well at the collegiate level in any sport? Send us a tip at [email protected].

Something pretty remarkable took place in athletics at Brownsville Veterans Memorial during the 2016-17 school year.

Beginning with the fall semester in football, volleyball and tennis, the school’s teams started winning District 32-5A championships. From there, the winning continued, and by the time the school year ended just a few days ago, Brownsville Veterans had captured district titles in 13 of 19 team sports in 32-5A.

The school began competing in Class 5A last August after spending the previous two school years in Class 6A.

Besides its 13 district championships, Brownsville Veterans also recorded 32-5A runner-up finishes in three other sports. Every one of the school’s team sports advanced to the state playoffs for the second consecutive school year.

It was an accomplishment of consistency and dominance on a scale that hasn’t been witnessed before in Brownsville ISD and maybe not achieved by any high school in the Rio Grande Valley.

For its strong athletic showing during the just completed school year, Brownsville Veterans received the Sub-Class 6A Program of the Year award at Saturday’s All-Valley Sports Banquet in Mission.

“The fact that it was becoming such a magical school year athletically started to really sink in back in soccer season (in early 2017),” said David Cantu, Brownsville Veterans’ athletic coordinator and head football coach. “Last (school) year we made the playoffs in every sport, and as a coaching staff, we felt we could do even better this time. We literally sat here in a staff meeting and discussed that.

“It sets the bar high (for the future), but that’s OK,” Cantu added. “We feel like that’s the way it should be. It starts even before the students get here. It really starts at Stillman Middle School, which is our only feeder school. The athletic programs and coaches there do a great job and the students come here with that type of winning mentality and already used to achieving a certain level of success.”

More than anything, Cantu is grateful to be a part of the school’s continuing athletic success story. He’ll begin his sixth season as football coach in August.

“I just feel very fortunate to be surrounded by the success we’re having here,” he said. “We have so many coaches who are experienced, and more than that, they all respect each other. They cooperate and share a lot of our athletes (between the different sports). I think that’s an important factor in our success.”

There was a spirit of unity on campus in 2016-17 as the Brownsville Veterans athletes and coaches pulled for each other to do well in their various sports throughout the entire school year.

“It’s a cool thing (that we did so well) and it makes me proud to be a part of our school and proud that I know athletes from the other sports, and I’m happy for them,” said Cassie Valdez, a senior-to-be who was a standout in two sports — a setter in volleyball and a pitcher/infielder in softball.

Both of Valdez’s sports earned district championships and enjoyed solid showings in the playoffs. Volleyball went 30-14 and advanced two rounds in the postseason, while softball finished 26-8 and advanced three rounds.

“All the athletes and coaches work really hard, and to win district titles and go deep in the playoffs was really great,” said Valdez, a two-time All-Metro MVP in softball who won the same award in 32-5A this season.

Andres Bodden, another senior-to-be, played football and participated in track as a junior, winning 32-5A individual titles throwing the discus and shot put. He was a defensive end on the Chargers’ football team that went 8-3 overall last fall and shared the 32-5A championship with Mercedes as each team finished 6-1 in conference play.

“It means a great deal (to have this kind of overall success) because it says a lot about the student-athletes here and how committed they are,” said Bodden, who had his 2016 football season cut short due to a knee injury but came back to enjoy a standout track season that included one of the top discus throws in the Valley in 2017. “The athletes are prepared not only for their games, but also to do well in the class room.

“Having all this success across the board (athletically) for boys and girls makes us want to prepare the best we can this summer and do it all over again next school year,” he added. “It all starts (with volunteer workouts) in the summer.”

Besides football, volleyball, fall team tennis and softball, Brownsville Veterans also captured district titles in boys and girls basketball (both teams with 30 or more wins), boys and girls golf, boys and girls swimming, boys soccer, girls track and boys spring tennis. The district runner-up finishes came in baseball (14-9), girls soccer (18-5-1) and boys track.

Brownsville Veterans’ most successful sport in 2016-17 was girls golf, which won every one of its nine tournaments, including Region IV-5A competition, en route to qualifying for the UIL Class 5A state tournament May 15-16 in Bastrop.

Members of the Lady Chargers golf team were Julio Lucio, Cristina Pullen, Vanessa Campos, Fahtima Avila and Cecilia Garza. They placed fifth at state while becoming the first golf team from a public high school in the city to compete at such a high level.

The Chargers barely missed going to state in boys soccer. After capturing the 32-5A crown with a 12-2 record, they won four games in the playoffs to reach the Region IV-5A final, where they were edged 1-0 by Lopez for a berth at state. Boys soccer finished with a 23-3-2 overall record and ranked No. 4 in the Valley.

“It was a great atmosphere around campus (with all the winning this school year),” said boys soccer coach Alberto Vasquez, who captured his second district title this season in seven years of guiding the Chargers. “First it was football, team tennis and volleyball, and then all the other sports started coming around to win district, too. The senior class we had this year was such a great group of student-athletes and they showed great leadership, although it wasn’t just the seniors winning all those district titles.

“After the first team won district, everyone else wanted to win it as well,” Vasquez added. “The belief the athletes had in each other and the belief they had in the athletes from other sports, it really was just something special. They cared about each other. Yes, they picked on each other about which sport was the best, but the love and support they had for each other was something amazing to see every day.”

Added volleyball coach Lisa Mares, who has won three district titles in her eight years as coach, “No matter what (sports) season you’re in, there’s always pressure to be first. You want to do well and motivate others (in their sports) to follow you (and do well too). When one team wins district, another team continues because the sports all kind of feed off each other.

“It’s awesome to be a spectator and see the other sports win their games,” she added. “The atmosphere of the school is different when everyone is doing well. The coaches all try to collaborate with each other in things like conditioning, and I think that’s what makes us so successful. It’s something good. We’re a good environment and a close family.”

The coaches and athletes can’t help but feel it’s something unique.

“This is my 21st year in coaching and I’ve never seen anything like this (overall) success,” Cantu said. “We’re very fortunate to have the student-athletes we have, the coaches we have and the parental support we have. It’s something special and we don’t take it for granted.”

Joshua Alaniz, a 2017 graduate who played receiver in football and center fielder in baseball, couldn’t agree more.

“Actually, playing sports here has been the best thing to happen to me in my life so far,” said Alaniz, whose father, Jesus Alaniz, is an assistant coach on the Brownsville Veterans staff. “If you look at all of our teams, it’s never about one single person (carrying the squad). It’s always been a group effort, and that’s what is so awesome. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better senior year and going out like this with a bang.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess